Preface: God had previously, in the book of Exodus, tell Moses what needed to be done in order to ordain Aaron and his sons as priests. This chapter is the fulfillment of those instructions.

The Bible Summary of Leviticus 8 (in 140 characters or less): Moses gathered the people at the tabernacle. He made offerings on the altar and consecrated Aaron and his sons with oil and blood.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Leviticus. This will be the most extensive examination of Leviticus 8, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 8:

Introduction

         vv.     1–3           God Speaks to Moses

         vv.     4–5           Moses Speaks to the Community of Israel

         vv.     6–13         Aaron and His Sons Are Brought Forward, Washed, Clothed and Anointed

         vv.    14–17         The Offering of the Bull

         vv.    18–21         The Offering of the First Ram

         vv.    22–24         The Offering of the Second Ram

         vv.    25–27         The Fat of the Second Ram and the Bread as Presentation Offerings

         vv.    28–29         Moses’ Portion of the Second Ram Offering

         vv.    30–35         The Seven Days of Consecration

         vv.     36           Obedience of Moses and Aaron

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Leviticus 8 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Leviticus 8 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Leviticus 8

         Introduction         The Prequel of Leviticus 8

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         The Principals of Leviticus 8

         Introduction         The Places of Leviticus 8

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Leviticus 8

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 8

         Introduction         Outlines of Leviticus 8 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Leviticus 8 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Leviticus 1–15)

         Introduction 

         Introduction 

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Leviticus 8)

         Introduction 

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         v.       9              What are all of these references to the Priesthood?

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         v.      23              Leviticus 8:23 (a graphic)

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         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Leviticus 8 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Leviticus 8

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Leviticus 8

         Summary            Shmoop Summary of Leviticus 8

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Leviticus 8

         Summary 

         Addendum          Footnote for Leviticus 8:1 (the Christian Community Bible)

         Addendum          Word of Judgment; Revelation and Truth (from the American English Bible)

         Addendum          Types of Baptisms (by R. B. Thieme, Jr.)

         Addendum          Last Lamb/Ram (from the American English Bible)

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum 

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Leviticus 8

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Leviticus 8

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Leviticus 8

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Leviticus 8

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An Introduction to Leviticus 8

I ntroduction: Up to this point, most of Leviticus has been direct instruction from God to Moses concerning the Tabernacle worship which was to take place (and these instructions will be continued). The first 7 chapters consisted of five categories of approaches (or, drawings near or offerings), or sacrifices, if you will. Leviticus 8 begins with some actual narrative (Leviticus 8–10 are primarily narrative). Everything is in place and now the Aaronic priesthood (which is a more accurate designation than the Levitical priesthood) must be formally inducted into their positions. The ceremony here should speak of Jesus Christ and one of the aspects of His ministry, His function as our High Priest. We have already been given a rundown of what must be done in order to sanctify Aaron and his sons back in Exodus 29 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). This is simply a fulfillment of God's orders at that time.

This chapter and the next chapter, taken together, may seem confusing. Here, Moses is offering a bunch of sacrifices, and in the next chapter, Aaron offers a bunch of sacrifices. The idea is, first, Aaron and his sons must be consecrated, or set apart, for the priestly ministry. That is Leviticus 8. In Leviticus 9, they then offer up sacrifices for their sins and the sins of the people. That is, they begin to exercise their priestly duties. Prior to this, Moses was doing almost everything; but once Aaron and his sons are consecrated as priests, all of the duties of the Tabernacle will be done by them.

Recall that when Moses went up to Mount Sinai, the people persuaded Aaron to revolt against God and to make a golden calf to worship. Well, this was a crappy thing for them to do, and if I were God, I might have killed all of them. (Obviously, I would not want to be similarly judged by someone else regarding my own disobedience). Nevertheless, Aaron’s indiscretions are now behind him.

The offerings made in Leviticus. 8–9 are sin offerings which Aaron makes for himself and the people. These sin offerings, as always, represent Jesus Christ dying for our sins on the cross. Because of these sin offerings, Aaron can function as the High Priest before God, despite his previous rebellion against God.

Timeline for Leviticus

There is very little narrative in the book of Leviticus; so this information may have been given to Moses in a few days or, at most, a few weeks; and Moses both wrote these things down and informed the people. Because of information previously studied in the introduction, we are not 100% certain if all of this material was given to Moses while in the newly erected Tabernacle. I would lean towards that being the case.

As I have done previously, since this chapters is what God is saying to Moses, I will begin and end the chapter with quotation marks. I will not insert a new set of quotation marks for each new paragraph.

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God Speaks to Moses

Compare Exodus 28–29; 30:26–30; and 40:9–15

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Leviticus.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so speaks Y^ehowah unto Moses, to say, “Take Aaron and his sons with him; and the garments and oil of the anointing and bull of the sin offering and two of the rams and a basket of the unleavened bread loaves; and all the congregation assemble unto a door of a Tent of Appointment.”

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  And Adonoy spoke to Moshe, to say:

Take [Bring] Aharon [near], along with his sons, the garments, the anointing oil [of inaugurating to greatness], the bull for the sin-offering, the two rams and a basket of matzos.

Assemble the entire congrega-tion at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   And the Lord spake with Mosheh, saying: Bring near Aharon who is afar off on account of the work of the calf; and take the vestments that I commanded thee, and the oil of consecration, and the bullock, and the two rams, with the basket of unleavened cakes. And let all the congregation gather together at the gate of the tabernacle of ordinance.

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

Take Aaron with his sons, their vestments, and the oil of unction: a calf for sin, two rams, a basket with unleavened bread.

And thou shalt gather together all the congregation to the door of the tabernacle.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Mar-Yah spoke to Mosha, saying,

"Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread; and assemble all the congregation at the door of the Tabernacle.".

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     And LORD JEHOVAH spoke with Moshe and said to him, "Lead Ahron and his children with him and take clothing and the oil of his anointing and a bull of sin offering and two rams and a basket of unleavened bread"; And he gathered all of the assembly to the door of the Time Tabernacle."

Samaritan Pentateuch           And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying

Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;

And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Take Aaron and his sons, and his robes and the anointing oil, and the calf for the sin-offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread, and assemble the whole congregation at the door of the tabernacle of witness.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And the Lord said to Moses, 

Take Aaron, and his sons with him, and the robes and the holy oil and the ox of the sin-offering and the two male sheep and the basket of unleavened bread; And let all the people come together at the door of the Tent of meeting.

Easy English                          Moses anoints Aaron and his sons

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Fetch Aaron and his sons. Bring their special clothes. Bring the oil. Bring the basket of bread that they made without yeast. Also bring the bull for the sin offering and the two male sheep. Cause all the people to come to the door of the Tent of Meeting.’

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  The LORD said to Moses, "Take Aaron and his sons with him and the clothes, the anointing oil, the bull of the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. Then gather the people together at the entrance of the Meeting Tent."

Good News Bible (TEV)         The LORD said to Moses,

"Take Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of my presence and bring the priestly garments, the anointing oil, the young bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. Then call the whole community together there."

The Message                         The Ordination of Priests

God spoke to Moses: He said, “Take Aaron and with him his sons, the garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the Absolution-Offering, the two rams, and the basket of unraised bread. Gather the entire congregation at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.” Moses did just as God commanded him and the congregation gathered at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. V. 4 is included for context.

Names of God Bible               Aaron and His Sons Made Priests

Yahweh spoke to Moses, “Take Aaron and his sons, the priests’ clothes, the anointing oil, the bull that will be the offering for sin, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. Gather the whole congregation at the entrance to the tent of meeting.”

NIRV                                      Preparing the Priests to Serve the Lord

The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting. Bring their clothes and the anointing oil. Bring the bull for the sin offering. Also bring two rams. And bring the basket with the bread made without yeast. Then gather the whole community at the entrance to the tent of meeting.” Moses did just as the Lord had commanded him. All the people gathered together at the entrance to the tent of meeting. V. 4 is included for context.

New Simplified Bible              Jehovah continued to speak to Moses: »Bring Aaron and his sons, the priests' clothes, the anointing oil, the bull that will be the offered for sin, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. »Gather the entire congregation at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.«

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             Leviticus 8

Aaron and sons become priests

Prepping for ordination

The LORD told Moses: Get Aaron and his sons. And bring their official priestly clothing along with some olive oil to anoint them. Bring sacrificial animals, too: a bull as a sin offering, [1] along with two male goats and a basket of yeast-free bread. Tell the people to come to the doorway at the Meeting Tent. [2]

¹8:2 A sin offering usually refers to something the people of Israel brought to God for accidental sins. Some scholars say a better translation is the opposite of “sin” because the sacrifice is intended to “un-sin” people, to purify them. So those scholars call it a “purification offering” because “un-sin” or “de-sin” aren’t words, don’t sound scholarly even if they were, and each have only two syllables. “Purification” has five. See Exodus 4 for more.

²8:3 This is likely the tent worship center of Exodus 36-40, given the descriptions that come later. Yet a Meeting Tent was mentioned first in Exodus 33:7, before the tent worship center was built and located in the middle of the camp (Numbers 2:17). This was another place where Moses apparently spent some time, “outside the camp, at a fair distance” (Exodus 33:7). This is where people would go to hear from Moses about what the Lord had to say about any particular question they had. Some scholars say Moses likely set up this Meeting Tent outside the camp because of God’s refusal to travel with the people. Moses may have figured that if God wouldn’t come to them, they would go to God.

Contemporary English V.       The LORD said to Moses: Send for Aaron and his sons, as well as their priestly clothes, the oil for ordination, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and a basket of bread made without yeast. Then bring the whole community of Israel together at the entrance to the sacred tent.

The Living Bible                     The Lord said to Moses, “Now bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tabernacle, together with their garments, the anointing oil, the young bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of bread made without yeast; and summon all Israel to a meeting there.”

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    Aaron and His Sons Set Apart for Their Work

The Lord said to Moses, “Take Aaron and his sons, and the clothing, the oil for holy use, the bull for the sin gift, the two rams and the basket of bread without yeast. And gather together all the people at the door of the meeting tent.”

New Living Translation           Ordination of the Priests

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Bring Aaron and his sons, along with their sacred garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams, and the basket of bread made without yeast, and call the entire community of Israel together at the entrance of the Tabernacle. [Hebrew Tent of Meeting; also in 8:4, 31, 33, 35.]”

Unfolding Bible (simplified)    Yahweh also said to Moses, "Bring Aaron and his sons, and bring their special clothes, the oil for anointing them, the bull to be offered to cause them to become acceptable to God, the two rams to be slaughtered, and the basket containing bread made without yeast.  Then gather all the people at the entrance to the sacred tent."

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Then the Lord spoke to Moses and said:

‘Go get Aaron and his sons, along with their robes, the anointing oil, a calf for a sin offering, two rams, and a basket of fermentation-free bread; then assemble the whole gathering at the entrance to the Tent of Proofs.

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           The priests’ ordination

The Lord said to Moses, Take Aaron and his sons with him, the priestly clothing, the anointing oil, a bull for the purification offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread, and assemble the whole community at the meeting tent’s entrance.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       And now the Lord said to Moses, Bring with thee Aaron and his sons, and their sacred vestments, and the oil for anointing, and a young bullock such as is offered for a fault, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread, and gather the whole assembly of the people at the tabernacle door.

Translation for Translators                        Aaron and his sons were appointed to be priests

Yahweh also said to Moses/me, “Bring Aaron and his sons, and bring their ◂special clothes/clothes that they will wear while they do the work of priests►, the oil for anointing them, the bull to be offered to cause them to become forgiven for the sins they have committed, the two rams to be slaughtered, and the basket containing bread made without yeast. Then gather all the people at the entrance to the Sacred Tent.”

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Christian Standard Bible        Ordination of Aaron and His Sons

The Lord spoke to Moses: “Take Aaron, his sons with him, the garments, the anointing oil, the bull of the sin [Or purification] offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread, and assemble the whole community at the entrance to the tent of meeting.”

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                The Ritual of Priestly Consecration.

The EVER-LIVING also spoke to Moses, saying;—

"Take Aaron, and his sons with him, with the robes and the oil of consecration, and the bull for a sin-offering, and the two rams, and the basket of biscuits, and the whole of the chiefs of the Parliament to the door of the Hall of Assembly."

International Standard V        Ordination of the Priesthood

(Exodus 29:1-37)

The Lord spoke to Moses:

“Take Aaron, his sons with him, the clothing, the anointing oil, the bull for sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread and then assemble the entire congregation at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.”

Urim-Thummim Version         YHWH spoke to Moses saying, Take Aaron and his sons with him (including the garments), the anointing oil and a young bull for a Sin-Offering, and two rams along with a basket of unleavened bread and gather all the company together to the entrance of the Tabernacle at the Appointed Place.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And Yahweh spoke to Moses saying:

Take Aaron, and his sons with him, and the clothes, and the anointing oil, and the sinstuff bull, and the two rams, and the basket of crackers, and all the congregation, the crowd, to the opening of the tent of events.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Ordination ceremonies

• Yahweh spoke to Moses; he said: “Take Aaron, his sons with him, and the vestments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sacrifice for sin, the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread. Then call the whole community toge there at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.”

The extensive notes for this section were placed in the Addendum.

The Heritage Bible                          And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread,

And you gather all the congregation together before the door of the tent of appointed meeting.

New American Bible(2011)    Ordination of Aaron and His Sons.*

^a The LORD said to Moses: Take Aaron along with his sons, the vestments, the anointing oil, the bull for a purification offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread, then assemble the whole community* at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

* [8:1–2] This chapter presents the fulfillment of the commands in Ex 28–29; 30:26–30; and 40:9–15.

* [8:3–4] Community: this word (Heb. ‘edah) may refer to tribal leaders, all adult males, or the entire nation. The last is probably intended here.

a. [8:1] Cf. Ex 28–29; 39; 40:12–15.

The Catholic Bible                  Consecration of the Priesthood^[a]

Chapter 8^[b]

Priestly Consecration. The Lord spoke to Moses saying, “Bring Aaron and his sons together with their garments,^[c] the oil of anointing, a young bull for a sin offering, two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread and gather the whole assembly together at the entrance to the tent of meeting.”

[a] Leviticus 8:1 It was thought that the liturgy of the temple faithfully reproduced the forms of worship celebrated in the wilderness in the tent of meeting. That is why the prescriptions of this ritual (chs. 8–10) were directly linked to the origin of Israelite worship at the foot of Sinai. These prescriptions highlight the importance of the priesthood, of which the people became conscious through the offering of sacrifices, and also the authority exercised by the Aaronic priesthood.

[b] Leviticus 8:1 The candidates, who had been chosen by the Lord, were vested in their sacred robes and anointed with oil. Then three different sacrifices were offered: a sacrifice for sin, a burnt offering, an investiture sacrifice. This last rite was a real priestly consecration of Aaron and his sons for the carrying out of their ministry, although this consecration did not confer any supernatural power, as it does in the priesthood of Christ.

[c] Leviticus 8:2 Their garments: a detailed description of the priest’s clothing is given, including the ephod—an apron-like garment of fine linen and gold thread—worn by Aaron, the high priest. Simpler garments were worn by other priests.

[Kukis: I want you to take note of these footnotes—despite the weird ideas of the Catholic church when it comes to the priesthood of the Christian era, these notes seem reasonably accurate to me and removed from such apostate thinking. I continue to have some hope for the Catholic church based upon the many excellent translations which have the imprimatur.]

New Jerusalem Bible             Yahweh spoke to Moses and said: 'Take Aaron and with him his sons, the vestments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sacrifice for sin, the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread. Then call the whole community together at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.'

NRSV (Anglicized Cath. Ed.) The Rites of Ordination

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Take Aaron and his sons with him, the vestments, the anointing-oil, the bull of sin-offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread; and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Revised English Bible–1989   The priesthood

WHEN the LORD spoke to Moses he said:

Bring Aaron and his sons, along with the vestments, the anointing oil, the bull for a purification-offering, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread, and assemble all the community at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           (iv) Adonai said to Moshe, “Take Aharon and his sons with him, the garments, the anointing oil, the bull for the sin offering, the two rams and the basket of matzah; and assemble the entire community at the entrance to the tent of meeting.”

Kaplan Translation                 God spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Take Aaron along with his sons, the vestments, the anointing oil, the sin offering bull, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. Gather the entire community at the entrance of the Communion Tent.’ The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Leviticus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

8:1 God spoke. . . Fulfilling the instructions given in Exodus 29:1-37.

The Scriptures–2009              And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying, 

“Take Aharon and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread,  and assemble all the congregation at the door of the Tent of Appointment.”

Tree of Life Version                Then Adonai spoke to Moses, saying:

“Take Aaron and his sons with him, the garments, the anointing oil, the bull of the sin offering, the two rams and the basket of matzot. Then assemble all the congregation at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.”

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible                      AND JESUS SPOKE TO MOSES, SAYING,

“TAKE AARON AND HIS SONS, AND HIS ROBES AND THE ANOINTING OIL, AND THE CALF FOR THE SIN-OFFERING, AND THE TWO RAMS, AND THE BASKET OF UNLEAVENED BREAD,

AND ASSEMBLE THE WHOLE CONGREGATION AT THE DOOR OF THE TABERNACLE OF WITNESS.”

Awful Scroll Bible                   Sustains To Become was to speak to Moses,

to the intent: Be taking Aaron and his sons, the garments, the anointing oil, the young bull for the miss of the mark, two rams, and the basket of that unleavened,

even was you to gather together the assembly, a gathering together at the entrance of the tent of the appointed place.

Concordant Literal Version    Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying.

Take Aaron and his sons with him and the garments and the anointing oil and the young bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the tray of unleavened cakes

and assemble the whole congregation at the opening of the tent of appointment.

exeGeses companion Bible   PRIESTS ARE HALLOWED

And Yah Veh words to Mosheh, saying,

Take Aharon and his sons with him

and the clothes and the anointing oil

and a bullock for the sin and two rams

and a basket of matsah:

and congregate all the witness

to the opening of the tent of the congregation.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Hashem spoke unto Moshe, saying,

Take Aharon and his Banim with him, and the garments, and the shemen hamishchah (anointing oil), and a bull for the chattat (sin offering), and two rams, and a basket of matzot;

And gather thou Kol HaEdah together unto the entrance of the Ohel Mo'ed.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. Then spake Yahweh unto Mosesˎ saying:

Take thou Aaronˎ and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointingʹ oil,—and the sinbearing bullock, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened cakes; and <all the assembly> call thou together,—unto the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                The Consecration of Aaron and His Sons

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments [which are symbols of their office], and the anointing oil, and the bull for the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread; and assemble the entire congregation at the doorway of the Tent of Meeting.”

The Expanded Bible              Aaron and His Sons Appointed

The Lord said to Moses, “Bring Aaron and his sons and their clothes, the special olive oil used ·in appointing people and things to the service of the Lord [for anointing], the bull of the ·sin [or purification; 4:3] offering and the two male sheep, and the basket of bread made without ·yeast [leaven]. Then gather the ·people [^L community; congregation; assembly] together at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.”

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-13

Putting On The Garments

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin-offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread;

and gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation. The detailed instructions of the Lord regarding the consecration of the priests, Exodus 28:29; Exodus 28:40, were now to be carried out. "This is the ordinance: first the persons; then the garments, as symbols of the office: the anointing oil, the symbol of the Spirit; the bullock for the sin-offering, the symbol of the priest favored with the entrusted atonement, and yet needing favor; the ram for the burnt offering, the symbol of the sacrificial employment; the ram for the sacrifice of consecration, the symbol of the priestly emoluments in true sacrifices of consecration; and the basket of unleavened bread, the symbol of life's enjoyment of the priests, sanctified in every form by the oil of the Spirit. " (Lange. )

Lexham English Bible            Installing the Priests

Then [Or “And”] Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of the unleavened bread, and summon all of the community to the entrance to [Or “of”] the tent of assembly.”

The Voice                               The Eternal One addressed Moses.

Eternal One: Moses, take Aaron and his sons together with their sacred garments, the specially prepared anointing oil, the bull set aside for the purification offering for sin, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread. Then gather the entire community at the entrance of the congregation tent.

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the sin offering bull, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread,...

...And assemble the entire community at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

NET Bible®                             Ordination of the Priests

Then the Lord spoke to Moses:¹ “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, the anointing oil, the sin offering bull, the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread, and assemble the whole congregation at the entrance of the Meeting Tent.”²

^1sn Lev 8 is the fulfillment account of the ordination legislation recorded in Exod 29, and is directly connected to the command to ordain the tabernacle and priesthood in Exod 40:1-16 as well as the partial record of its fulfillment in Exod 40:17-38.

^2sn For “tent of meeting” see the note on Lev 1:1 above.

^sn The second clause of v. 1, “and the Lord spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying,” introduces the following discourse. This is a standard introductory formula (see, e.g., Exod 20:1; 25:1; 31:1; etc.). The combination of the first and second clauses is, therefore, “bulky” because of the way they happen to be juxtaposed in this transitional verse (J. E. Hartley, Leviticus [WBC], 8). The first clause of v. 1 connects the book back to the end of the Book of Exodus while the second looks forward the ritual legislation that follows in Lev 1:2ff. There are two “Tents of Meeting”: the one that stood outside the camp (see, e.g., Exod 33:7) and the one that stood in the midst of the camp (Exod 40:2; Num 2:2ff) and served as the Lord’s residence until the construction of the temple in the days of Solomon (Exod 27:21; 29:4; 1 Kgs 8:4; 2 Chr 5:5, etc.; cf. 2 Sam 7:6). Exod 40:35 uses both “tabernacle” and “tent of meeting” to refer to the same tent: “Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” It is clear that “tent of meeting” in Lev 1:1 refers to the “tabernacle.” The latter term refers to the tent as a “residence,” while the former refers to it as a divinely appointed place of “meeting” between God and man (see R. E. Averbeck, NIDOTTE 2:873-77 and 2:1130-34). This corresponds to the change in terms in Exod 40:35, where “tent of meeting” is used when referring to Moses’ inability to enter the tent, but “tabernacle” when referring to the Lord taking up residence there in the form of the glory cloud. The quotation introduced here extends from Lev 1:2 through 3:17, and encompasses the burnt, grain, and peace offering regulations. Compare the notes on Lev 4:1; 5:14; and 6:1 [5:20 HT] below.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

A Faithful Version                  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, "Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a young bull for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread.  And gather all the congregation together to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."

Charles Thomson OT            Then the 'Lord spoke to Moses saying,

Take Aaron and his sons, and his robes and the anointing oil, and the young bull for the sin offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened cakes; and assemble all the congregation at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony.

Context Group Version          And YHWH spoke to Moses, saying,

Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bull of the purification-offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread; and assemble all the congregation at the door of the tent of meeting.

Niobi Study Bible                   Aaron and His Sons Consecrated
And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,

The Priests' Offerings
"Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread; and gather you all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."

Revised Mechanical Trans.    ...and YHWH spoke to Mosheh saying, take Aharon and his sons with him and the garments and the oil of ointment and the bull of failure and two bucks and the wicker basket of unleavened breads, and cause to assemble all the company to the opening of the appointed tent,...

Young’s Updated LT             And Jehovah speaks unto Moses, saying, “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and the bullock of the sin-offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened things, and all the company assemble you unto the opening of the tent of meeting.”

The gist of this passage:     God tells Moses to gather Aaron, his sons, and whomever is chosen to assemble at the Tent of Meeting.

Translation: Y^ehowah spoke to Moses, saying,...

Again, God speaks to Moses. I believe that since this is narration (for the most part), that God spoke these words to Moses shortly before Moses did what was asked of him.

Leviticus 8:1 Y^ehowah spoke to Moses, saying,... (Kukis mostly literal translation)

The are almost 700 phrases which indicate direct verbal contact from God to Moses and others in the Pentateuch.

Translation: ...“Take Aaron and his sons with him;...

At the end of the previous chapter, there were some words spoken about the convocation of the newly appointed priests. This had not happened yet; and there was no text for those words to refer back to. What appeared to be Moses’ summary at the end of chapter 7, perhaps looks forward to what happens in this chapter; or, a portion of this chapter had already taken place (the instructions that God delivers to Moses).

Those final words were: These [were] the instructions concerning the burnt offerings, the mincah offerings, the sin offerings, the guilt offerings, the consecrations and concerning the peace offerings [involving] a slaughtered animal. [This is] what Y^ehowah had instructed Moses near Mount Sinai, when he commanded the sons of Israel to bring near their [own] offerings to Y^ehowah [while] in the desert-wilderness of Sinai. (Leviticus 7:37–38; Kukis mostly literal translation) The consecration of the various priests had not taken place yet in the text of Leviticus. So I believe that those words reference the events of this chapter.

Translation: ...and the garments,...

There is a list of things that would be needed for the consecration. There were specific priestly garments which were to be worn.

Translation: ...the oil of anointing,...

The oil of anointing is used both as a recognition of the function and authority of the priests; and it represents the power of the Holy Spirit being given to them.

Translation: ...the bull of the sin offering, the two rams,...

The bull and the rams represent the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for our sins.

Translation: ...and a basket of unleavened bread.

The unleavened bread represents undiluted fellowship between man and God.

Leviticus 8:2 ...“Take Aaron and his sons with him; and the garments, the oil of anointing, the bull of the sin offering, the two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Sin here has a definite article, making it, in this context, the sin-offering or the sin-bearer. These are the supplies required for the installation of Aaron and his sons into the priesthood. The oil speaks of the Holy spirit and it was used to anoint the Tabernacle, the furniture of the Tabernacle and priests during their installation ceremony. Later it would be used to anoint leaders, as in 1Samuel 10:1 16:13.

Translation: Assemble the entire congregation [of people] at the door of the Tent of Meeting.”

The people of Israel were to attend this. They were to gather near the opening for the Tent of Meeting.

Obviously, everyone cannot sit out in front of the opening to the Tent of Meeting, however we are told that this involved the entire congregation. We do not know exactly how this was accomplished. Obviously, most would not be able to see all that was happening (although most could see the smoke from the sacrifices rise up).

Leviticus 8:3 Assemble the entire congregation [of people] at the door of the Tent of Meeting.” (Kukis mostly literal translation)

These sacrifices were to be witnessed by the people. God had the individual Israelites witness hundreds upon hundreds of sacrifices in their lifetimes. For us, it would be like hearing the gospel several hundred times throughout our lifetime (which most of us do).

Leviticus 8:1–3 Y^ehowah spoke to Moses, saying, “Take Aaron and his sons with him; and the garments, the oil of anointing, the bull of the sin offering, the two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread. Assemble the entire congregation [of people] at the door of the Tent of Meeting.” (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Leviticus 8:1–3 Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, “Take Aaron and his sons, along with the priestly garments, the anointing oil, the sin-offering bull, the two rams and a basket of unleavened bread. Also assemble the entire congregation of Israel and everyone is to meet at the door of the Tent of Meeting. (Kukis paraphrase)

——————————

Moses Speaks to the Community of Israel

Some translations begin a new paragraph with v. 5; and others treat vv. 4–5 as a single sentence.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so does Moses as which commanded Y^ehowah him. And so he assembles the congregation unto an entrance of a Tent of Appointment. And so says Moses unto the congregation, “This [is] the word that commands Y^ehowah to do.”

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  Moshe did that which Adonoy commanded him and the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

Moshe said to the congregation, This is the edict that Adonoy commanded to do.

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   And Mosheh did as the Lord commanded, and the congregation assembled on the twenty and third of the days of the month of Adar, at the gate of the tabernacle of ordinance. And Mosheh said to the congregation: This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded to be done.

Douay-Rheims 1899 (Amer.) And Moses did as the Lord had commanded. And all the multitude being gathered together before the door of the tabernacle:

He said: This is the word that the Lord hath commanded to be done.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Mosha did as Mar-Yah commanded him; and the congregation was assembled at the door of the Tabernacle.

Mosha said to the congregation, "This is the thing which Mar-Yah has commanded to be done."

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     And Moshe did as LORD JEHOVAH commanded him. This is the commandment that LORD JEHOVAH commanded to do.

Samaritan Pentateuch           And gather thou all the congregation together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

And Moses did as the LORD commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And Moses did as the Lord appointed him, and he assembled the congregation at the door of the tabernacle of witness.

And Moses said to the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord has commanded you to do.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And Moses did as the Lord said, and all the people came together at the door of the Tent of meeting. 

And Moses said to the people, This is what the Lord has given orders to be done.

Easy English                          Moses did what the Lord said. Moses and the priests and all the people came to the door of the Tent of Meeting. Moses said to the people, ‘The Lord said that I must do this.’

Easy-to-Read Version–2008  Moses did what the LORD commanded him. The people met together at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. Then Moses said to them, "This is what the LORD has commanded must be done."

God’s Word™                         Moses did as the LORD commanded him, and the congregation gathered at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

Moses told the congregation, "The LORD has commanded that this is what you must do."

Good News Bible (TEV)         Moses did as the LORD had commanded, and when the community had assembled, he said to them, "What I am now about to do is what the LORD has commanded."

The Message                         Moses addressed the congregation: “This is what God has commanded to be done.” V. 4 was placed with the previous passage for context.

NIRV                                      Moses said to the people, “Here is what the Lord has commanded us to do.” V. 4 was placed with the previous passage for context.

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Casual English Bible             Moses did that, and the people came.

Moses told them, “We’re about to do something the LORD told us to do.”

Contemporary English V.       Moses obeyed the LORD, and when everyone had come together, he said, "We are here to follow the LORD's instructions."

The Living Bible                     So all the people assembled, and Moses said to them, “What I am now going to do has been commanded by Jehovah.”

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    So Moses did just as the Lord told him. The people were gathered together at the door of the meeting tent. 5 Moses said to the people, “This is what the Lord has said to do.”

New Living Translation           So Moses followed the Lord’s instructions, and the whole community assembled at the Tabernacle entrance. Moses announced to them, “This is what the Lord has commanded us to do!”

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          So Moses did just as the Lord told him. He assembled the gathering at the entrance to the Tent of Proofs, and Moses told them:

‘This is what Jehovah has commanded us to do.’

Beck’s American Translation .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Moses did as the Lord had bidden him; and when all the people had gathered before the entrance to the tabernacle, he told them, I do this at the Lord’s express command.

Translation for Translators     Moses/I did what Yahweh told him/me to do, and all the people gathered there.

Then Moses/I said to the people, “This is what Yahweh has commanded us to do.”

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Revised Ferrar-Fenton Bible  Moses consequently did as the EVER-LIVING commanded him; and summoned the chiefs to the door of the Hall of Assembly. Then Moses said to the chiefs, "The EVER-LIVING commands this to be done."

Urim-Thummim Version         Then Moses did as YHWH commanded him and the company was gathered together to the entrance of the Tabernacle at the Appointed Place.

Moses spoke to the company, This is what YHWH has commanded to be done.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And Moses did as Yahweh commanded him, and the congregation gathered at the opening of the tent of events.

And Moses said to the congregation: "This is the thing which Yahweh commanded to do."

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

The Heritage Bible                          And Moses did as Jehovah commanded him, and the assembly was gathered together to the door of the tent of appointed meeting.

And Moses said to the congregation, This is the word which Jehovah commanded to do.

New American Bible (2011)   Moses did as the LORD had commanded. When the community^b had assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting, Moses told them: “This is what the LORD has ordered to be done.”

b. [8:4] Nm 27:19.

Revised English Bible–1989   Moses did as the LORD commanded him, and when the community assembled at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, he told them that this was what the LORD had ordered to be done.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Moshe did as Adonai ordered him, and the community was assembled at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Moshe said to the community, “This is what Adonai has ordered to be done.”

Israeli Authorized Version      And Moshe did as YY Commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.

And Moshe said unto the congregation, This is the thing which YY Commanded to be done.

Kaplan Translation                 Moses did as God commanded and the community was assembled at the Communion Tent’s entrance. Moses said to the community, ‘This is what God has commanded to be done.’

The Scriptures–2009              And Mosheh did as יהוה commanded him, and the congregation was assembled at the door of the Tent of Appointment. 

And Mosheh said to the congregation, “This is the word יהוה commanded to be done.”

Tree of Life Version                So Moses did as Adonai commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, Moses said to the congregation, “This is what Adonai has commanded to be done.”

Weird English, Olde English, Anachronistic English Translations:

Alpha & Omega Bible            ND MOSES DID AS JESUS APPOINTED HIM, AND HE ASSEMBLED THE CONGREGATION AT THE DOOR OF THE TABERNACLE OF WITNESS.

AND MOSES SAID TO THE CONGREGATION, “THIS IS THE THING WHICH JESUS HAS COMMANDED YOU TO DO.”

Awful Scroll Bible                   Moses was to effect as Sustains To Become is to have given charge to him, and the assembly was to be gathered, to the entrance of the tent of the appointed place.

Moses was to say in their audience: This are the concern, that Sustains To Become is to have commanded to be effected.

Concordant Literal Version    Moses did just as Yahweh had instructed him; the congregation was assembled at the opening of the tent of appointment; and Moses said to the congregation:This is the thing which Yahweh has instructed us to do. collected

exeGeses companion Bible   ...- and Mosheh works as Yah Veh misvahed him;

and congregates the witness

to the opening of the tent of the congregation.

And Mosheh says to the witness,

This is the word Yah Veh misvahed to work.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Moshe did as Hashem commanded him; and HaEdah (the Assembly) was gathered together unto the entrance of the Ohel Mo'ed.

And Moshe said unto HaEdah, This is the thing which Hashem commanded to be done.

Rotherham’s Emphasized B. And Moses did, as Yahweh commanded him,— and the assembly was called together, unto the entrance of the tent of meeting. Then said Moses unto the assembly,—

||This|| is the thingˎ which Yahweh hath commanded to be done.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Expanded Bible              Moses did as the Lord commanded him, and the ·people [^L community; congregation; assembly] met together at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.

Then Moses spoke to the ·people [^L community; congregation; assembly] and said, “This is what the Lord has commanded to be done.”

Kretzmann’s Commentary    And Moses did as the Lord commanded him; and the assembly was gathered together unto the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

And Moses said unto the congregation, This is the thing which the Lord commanded to be done. Very likely Moses repeated the entire ordinance referring to the consecration of the priests before the act of consecration was begun, as he had recorded the Lord's words.

Lexham English Bible            So [Or “And”] Moses did just as Yahweh commanded him, and the community gathered by the entrance to [Or “of”] the tent of assembly.

Then [Or “And”] Moses said to the community, “This is the word that Yahweh has commanded to be done.” [Or “to do” or “me to do”]

The Voice                               So Moses followed the Eternal’s instructions. When the community of Israel was gathered together at the entrance of the congregation tent, Moses addressed the assembly: “The Eternal One has commanded that we gather and ordain Aaron and his sons as priests.”

Bible Translations with Many Footnotes:

The Complete Tanach           And Moses did as the Lord had commanded him, and the community assembled at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. And Moses said to the community: This is the thing the Lord has commanded to do.

The Geneva Bible                  .